Celebrating Community
When I announced my campaign for District Leader in Assembly District 51, my goal was to bring the T.E.A. to Kings County Democratic Committee: Transparency, Equity, and Accountability. We hear far too often about the self-serving narcissism and general lack of leadership from our President. But this is a problem at all levels of government, and when it comes to […]
How do you win an election without leaving the house? Local politicians – their sights set on Albany – hope to figure out the answer. With seven major Democratic candidates vying for New York State Legislature seats in Senate District 25 and Assembly District 51, which overlap in Red Hook and Sunset Park, this spring would – under normal circumstances […]
In 2018, Andrew Gillum was the handsome, 38-year-old runner-up in Florida’s gubernatorial race. Gillum, the state’s first Black nominee for governor, lost by fewer than 35,000 votes. Despite his loss, Gillum’s political capital was rising on the national stage. Rumors of a vice-presidential nomination spread. In March 2020, on Friday the 13th, Gillum, now 40, was found in a heavily […]
A surprising number of adult Americans are, in fact, tiny little babies who need a big strong daddy to keep them safe – not so much from the coronavirus as from the degeneracy of the Republican Party. Unfortunately, many of these tiny babies spend a lot of time watching cable news. Hence the #PresidentCuomo Twitter trend. As we all know, […]
If you pay attention to the financial news, or even political news, you will hear over and over again that interest rates have to be kept low because there is not enough inflation to keep the economy humming along otherwise. I’m all for keeping the economy humming – without jobs there isn’t enough money to pay the rent, something that’s […]
At the TWU Local 100 headquarters in Downtown Brooklyn, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery announced her impending retirement from politics on January 11 after a 35-year career in Albany, where she represented neighborhoods such as Red Hook, Gowanus, and Boerum Hill. A former daycare director, Montgomery entered a mostly white, mostly male legislative body – which would remain under continuous Republican […]
Most of the Department of City Planning’s proposed neighborhood rezonings – in Bushwick, in Inwood, on Southern Boulevard in the Bronx – are falling apart. What’s to blame? Bill de Blasio, who’s based his housing plan on upzoning transit-rich corridors to promote the development of market-rate residential units and – through Mandatory Inclusionary Housing – a smaller percentage of affordable […]
Gowanus cleanup The Brooklyn Eagle just published a great essay by Gowanus scholar Joseph Alexiou. He makes clear what many reporters never mention in their Gowanus Canal Superfund coverage: that New York City is doing its best to sabotage the cleanup. Titled “The Gowanus Canal will never be clean,” the article makes the case that it is local corruption and […]
On December 2, in the auditorium of PS 32, Community Board 6 (CB6) got to hear the latest on Gowanus Green, the long-delayed project that’ll convert 247,877 square feet of polluted land into a mixed-use development topping out at 28 stories, with housing, green space, and a public school. For a variety of reasons, a lot of Gowanus residents in […]
This fall, the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) announced the upcoming demolition and reconstruction of the Red Hook Library at 7 Wolcott Street. In October, architects David Leven and Stella Betts of the firm LEVENBETTS visited the branch to showcase their new design, which marks their third job for BPL, following their work on the Brooklyn Heights Interim Library and the […]